Cartridge World - Doug Henderson

Are you paycheck oriented or profit oriented? Interesting question? We all like to make money but most of us are accustomed to receiving the money we need to support our family in the form of a paycheck. But paychecks can disappear in an instant. Just ask the millions of people that are current unemployed or those that lost their jobs during the past few years. Although our entrepreneur this month was originally looking for a paycheck, through our discovery process he realized that he was profit oriented. He wanted to use his skills to provide a service, help save the environment and of course make a profit. Congratulations Doug and welcome to the world of entrepreneurship!

Doug Henderson         Cartridge World

I met Doug Henderson in the Spring of 2010 at a weekly support group for transitional workers. I'm a resource for several of these support groups that assist individuals in their re-employment journey. I attend these meetings about once a month and offer my services and support at no cost. Milwaukee is very fortunate to have several of these groups and they are all run by volunteers. If you happen to be in a career transition or crossroads, please check to see if you have similar groups in your area. Doug had been out of work for over 6 months and was actively looking for a job. He was previously employed by Rockwell Automation as a Senior Product Applications Engineer. He had also held the position of Senior Commercial Marketing Engineer where he put his MBA skills to work developing applications for customers, trade shows and to support product marketing. It took a couple of months of attending these meetings before Doug came up to me to express an interest in learning about his self employment options. At 52 years old and in the peak of the recession, he had come to the conclusion that finding a job and keeping it, probably wasn't in the cards. As he told me, "I need to transition to something new in my career." While Doug was exploring employment, he had investigated several businesses including a garage door installation company, a dry cleaners, food business, consulting and even took an interview for a financial planning organization. He also considered something in the property management area. Nothing really jumped out at him. Although he had an interest in being self-sufficient, he needed some help to determine which opportunity or business models would fit his goals and needs. Doug is a very friendly and inquisitive individual. We decided it was best if we started from the beginning with informational questionnaires, behavioral testing and interviews. There I learned that Doug is a very patient and stable individual, not much of a risk taker and extremely analytical. Throughout our discovery journey, Doug was always researching something on the Internet about business ownership, government regulations, demographics etc. This was Doug's nature and I see if often in my highly analytical clients. They will over research things to the degree that they have difficultly converting their research into action. Helping Doug focus on the basics of what he wanted the business to do for him and his family is where my coaching would be most effective. We worked on his criteria which consisted of being challenged, enjoying what he would be doing, and being an expert or the "go to guy" was most important to him. Using Doug's criteria, we worked up an initial profile of his hypothetical business. We started our journey of discovery with a drug testing business, a window blind business and a business that not only washed windows, but also installed energy efficient window film and a couple of other maintenance related services. We also threw in a cartridge refilling business that was for sale and offered some initial cash flow. Doug did an excellent job investigating and validating these business models. Throughout his research, he continued to look for a job. In fact, he did get a job offer and turned it down because he didn't see it being a good fit. Perhaps he needed to scratch his entrepreneurial itch. After several months of validating these opportunities, the ink cartridge and toner franchise, caught his interest the most. He liked the idea that it was an existing business with a customer base and cash flow and it had a technical side that he knew he'd enjoy. "Marty's assistance was invaluable throughout the entire process of identifying opportunities. His encouragement helped me to decide to move forward." About 6 years earlier, an individual in the Milwaukee area opened a Cartridge World franchise. The owner was a business man and his nephew and wife ran the store. The store did well and he decided to open a second store. A couple of years after that, his nephew got a job offer he just couldn't refuse and his wife was left to manage both stores. This was just too much for her, so the owner decided to sell off his satellite store. This was the store that Doug was considering. Buying an existing business has its own challenges and we needed to work through these together. Doug hired professionals to help him analyze the cash flow and profitability of the business. An attorney helped with a Letter of Intent to Purchase and the final resale agreement. The store lease had to be reviewed, negotiated and transferred. And of course, Doug needed to negotiate the selling price. In the end, Doug decided that Cartridge World would be his next career. In his words; "I selected Cartridge World because the customer value propositions of cost savings, environmental benefits and superior customer service were compelling to me given my more than 25 years of business experience. I felt the business provided wide customer appeal particularly in a difficult economic period."   Since purchasing the business, Doug redesigned the store to allow for more production space and tables to do both the ink and toner refill business. He also purchased new equipment to support the business. Doug is also building his brand and growing his business by networking in his community. In his spare time, Doug volunteers with the Junior First Lego League where he helps youngsters learn about applications for robotic controls and automation including presentations and competitions. He told me, "I enjoy teaching kids about technology and how to apply it."   Cartridge World is the leader in remanufacturing and refilling printer cartridges for all major brands including HP, Dell, Canon, Lexmark and Epson. They refill ink cartridges for most home or small business printers, whether they are multi-function, color or black and white. They also remanufacture laser cartridges for most high speed copiers, full color printers or all-in-one laser printers, fax and copier cartridges. With 600 stores in North America and 1,700 stores worldwide, they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee, are environmental responsibility and offer saving of up to 30% off new. We all know that printer manufacturers make their money on the refill cartridges. Cartridge World breaks that cycle.   If you live in the greater Milwaukee area and would like to save on ink and toner cartridges, please call or stop by with your empty cartridges at Doug's store located at N112 W16076 Mequon Road, Germantown (next to Roberts Frozen Custard), 262-250-4664.  Doug will provide outstanding customer service with a smile and save you money in addition to helping the environment. Free delivery can be arranged for business accounts. Saving money couldn't be easier! Doug lives the Cartridge World slogan; "Ink and toner don't have to be expensive anymore." Check out the savings for yourself and let Doug know that Marty sent you.  We all like to make money and save money. Doug found a business where he can make money for himself and save money for others. He was able to transfer his technical and customer service skills into a business of his own where he will be rewarded for his efforts and will build equity in the years ahead. Besides being profit oriented, he likes the idea that he's providing a "green" service that helps to save the environment. This creates a win-win for everyone.